Marvel, DC, and Star Wars are ruining the film industry, says renowned director

Roland Emmerich, one of the biggest directors in the disaster movie genre, known for films such as ‘Independence Day,’ ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ and ‘2012,’ has stated that it’s become much more difficult to launch an original film today that is not based on a comic book from Marvel or DC, or part of a franchise such as Star Wars.

Speaking to Den of Geek ahead of the release of his latest sci-fi flick ‘Moonfall,’ Emmerich explained how the disaster genre has changed in recent years, saying, “Because naturally Marvel and DC Comics, and Star Wars, have pretty much taken over. It’s ruining our industry a little bit, because nobody does anything original anymore.”

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Emmerich’s distaste for superhero movies has been known for a while, as the director has spoken in the past about how Marvel films are something he likes to watch on planes in order to fall asleep. In a previous interview with Den Of Geek, he said that the reason for his skepticism for the superhero genre stems from the fact that he grew up in Germany long before Marvel movies were a big thing.

“There were [‘The Adventures of Tintin’ comics], but they were very childish and there were no superheroes. So that’s why at the very beginning, superheroes didn’t work in Germany. They needed 10 or 15 years [of movies] to get to the same level as the rest of the world…. But I just have never found any interest in that kind of movie.”

The filmmaker went on to make a point about how repetitious films based on the same IP have a detrimental effect on movie goers, who have become conditioned to favor formulaic storylines while dismissing original films. Emmerich added the Star Wars films to that list, despite previously stating that George Lucas’ original 1977 movie was one of his biggest inspirations to become a director.

Emmerich also claimed that unless a film is based on a popular IP these days, it’s much harder to get financing for an original project, even if it’s being done by a successful director. “You should make bold new movies, you know?” Emmerich said. “And I think, actually, Christopher Nolan is the master of that. He is someone who can make movies about whatever he wants. I have it a little bit harder, but I still have a big enough name – especially when it’s a disaster [movie] or has some sort of disaster theme.”

After years of trying to get it off the ground, Emmerich’s latest film ‘Moonfall’ is set to premiere in theaters on February 4. It’s based on the idea of the moon being a ‘megastructure’ which suddenly starts falling to Earth.